Magnesia insulation and the method of making the same



ioe cbwofsmousf comma on PLASTIC arsed Sept. 12,1939

UNITED STATES Examiner PATENT OFFICE MAGNESIA INSULATION AND THE METHOD OF MAKING THE SAltIE Earle R. Williams, North Plainfleld, N. J., assignor to Johns-Manville Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York No Drawing. Application January 29, 1936, Se-

rial No. 61,311.

2 Claims.

the proportions of approximately parts by weight of the basic carbonate to 15 parts, or so, of asbestos.

One conventional method of making such insulation, upon which the present invention is an improvement, includes carbonation of magnesium oxide in dilute aqueous suspensionTtoYini the carbonate, forming a niiittfi'ribiisbestos fibres with the carbonate and water of the safe suspension, shaping the mixture, converting the wet carbonate therein largely to threatening, and then subjecting the resulting product toldrying When this process is used, there is produced a product of undesired brittleness; the brittleness interferes with handling, shipping or using the product without excessive breakage.

These dimculties may be responsible, in part, at least, for the fact that most of the magnesia insulation made in the United States is produced by a process that involves the initial carbonation of magnesia in aqueous suspension to the bicarbonate stage, with subsequent heating to precipitate the basic carbonate from the solution of the bicarbonate and thereafter passing the slurry of carbonate after admixture of asbestos fibres therewith into a filtering mold under pressure to form the desired shaped product and to separate the water content of the slurry. Such pressure molding operations are to be distinguished from the procedure involved by my invention, which contemplates the formation of a self-setting shaped product independently of the application of pressure during the molding operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an n neimmn t emen ion d process and produce a product of minimized britfitness? compared to insulation heretofore made by this process. Other objects and advantages will appear from the detailed description that follows.

The invention comprises the novel features of product and method herein described and, particularly, the admixture of a small proportion of a sgag before molding the mixture includs nifsee ium. arb nate. asbe s and W An embodiment of the invention than: preferred at this time is illustrated by the following specific example.

Renewed December 22, 1938 There is formed, first of all, a W suspension of finely divided magne um ox e as, for instance, a suspension oi iiHeIy ground calcined magnesite in about 15 to 25 times its 5 weight of water Into this suspension, there. is bubbledandah sorbed carbon dioxide in amount'to'caiise 'c6nver sio'if'o he suspended magnesium oxide'fia'fgw to H drated ma nesium carbonate, the carbonate fled remaining suspended and being probably 10 predominantly of the formula MgCO-3H2O..

There is then formed an intimate mixture of the carbonate-water suspension with asbestos fibres and a small proportion of sea The asbestos fibres admixe are preferably 15 amosite although other fibres, such as those of we spersed chr s tile asbestos, may be used if the extra weigfi't o'f the latter fibres for a given bulk is not objectionable. As indicated, the amosite fibres give a large bulk for a given 20 weight and, consequently, an overall low density of the finished insulation.

A suitable proportion is 42 parts by weight of fibres to parts by weight of magnesia, cal-' cfilated as the oxide.

As the soap to be added, as described above,

I have used satisfactorily a water-soluble soa such as the saponification rmuct of red oi? (crude oleic acidl and fallow. Thus, the soap mmssium salt of the 30 common hi herfatt aciE dmaylalsmcontain a certain amount 5.5 gl cerine or other by-product of the saponificat'ion of a fat or red oil with an alkali under usual. soap-making conditions.

The composition comprising y ate rgmagnesium 35 carbonate, asbestos fibres, and soap is made intimate as by mechanical agitation or bubblin f gas therethrough. The result is a thick geamz" miiiffii'i me consistency.

- This mixture is introduced into ,g qlds gf suit- 40 able size and shape and is there heated to an elevated temperature, adapted to cause ggnyer sign of the magnesium carbonate to magnesium bas ie garbgnate, as, forinstance, at a temperature of about .F. During this conversion there is thickening or setting of the mass to a shape-retaining product.

The shape-retaining product is removed from the mold andis subjected to an elevated temperature to produce drying. Thus, the molded 50 product may be supported on suitable trays or pallets and placed in a gven at a temperature of, say 212 toOO? In compa 'fiffg the'insuiation made by my improved process, involving the use of a small pro- 55 portion of soap, with insulation made by a process otherwise the same, bumm itting the m a decided and important diiferenceis noted.

When the product made as heretofore is subjected to moderate bending stress, there results a sharp and severe fracture, the asbestos fibres extending on the two sides of the fracture being sharply severed at the zone of fracture. When, on the other hand, my improved product containing the soap is subjected to the same stress, there is either no breakage at all, a fracture that does not extend completely through the article, or the fibres extending originally on both sides of the zone of fracture are partly or completely pulled out at one end, thus showing considerable slippage of the fibres in the composition before or without rupture of the fibres.

It is not necessary to the invention to explain the mechanism to which the improvement is due. It is a fact, however, that brittleness is minimized so as to make the magnesia inis in the condition of having been formed directly from, and in situ with respect to the position originally Occupied by, the normal carbonate.

It will be understood that the details given are 5 for the purpose of illustation, not restriction, and that variations within the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: 10

to an elevated temperature adapted to convert sulation, including soap and made as described, -tfie wetind grfesiii'ifcarlifiiitethin-fin satisfactory from the standpoint of minimized ne' lum:b'ijarb6iiififiriifiiisettingjilthe brittleness, for the usual purposes for which magnesia insulation is used.

It is probable that the cause of my improvement may reside, in large part, in the reaction of the soap with the superficial portions of the particles of magnesium carbonate, with attendant desirable effect upon the exterior portions of the particles of basic carbonate formed by conversion from the carbonate or in increasing the yieldability, before breakage, of the bonding of the asbestos fibres in the magnesium basic carbonate.

The basic carbonate, in my finished product,

'Eflid ria u 'hnM-.. movmgthe product from the mold, and subjecting my retaining product, re-

the said product to an elevated temperature to produce drying. a

2. A cast light-weight shaped composition adapted for use as a heat insulation material,

comprising a magnesium carbonate self-set into 30 the desired shape independent of the application of pressure, asbestos fibres, and a relatively small amount of the reaction product of a soluble soap with the magnesium carbonate.

EARLE R. wmimms. 35'

esium oxide largely to magne- 5 a seiaedniateriau 

